A Cincinnati mother charged after her 2-year-old son was injured inside their Villages at Roll Hill home last year faces a child-endangering charge tied to the May 2025 shooting on Nottingham Road, where prosecutors alleged she left the toddler alone in her bedroom before he was struck by gunfire from a weapon inside the house.
Leonard faced the charge, according to WKRC. Police had not specified how the boy was injured, and Leonard survived the ordeal alongside her son, who also survived the shooting.
Leonard, 22, had been accused of child endangerment after the shooting, according to wlwt.com. Court documents alleged she placed the toddler alone in her bedroom on Nottingham Road on May 31, 2025, per a separate report from local12.com.
Attorney Says Leonard Didn't Know a Gun Was in the Home
Leonard's attorney told local12.com that she did not own a gun and had no idea one was in the home at the time of the shooting. Court reporting also indicated Leonard had recently started dating someone who brought a friend to her home, and that friend brought a gun into the residence.
A second person, Carmelo Anderson, was charged separately in connection with the case. Local12.com reported that Anderson was accused of giving the gun to someone and telling them to get rid of it after the shooting, and he faced tampering with evidence and child-endangering charges, remaining jailed on a $10,000 bond, per the same outlet's reporting.
A judge had set Leonard's bond at $1,000 while the case was pending and restricted her contact with her son unless permitted by Job and Family Services, according to local12.com's earlier coverage.
Conflicting Reports on the Boy's Condition
Reports on the toddler's medical condition following the shooting have varied. wlwt.com reported that the child's current condition was unknown at the time police said he had been taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. A later report from wcpo.com said the child was transported to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and was in stable condition.
Cases involving unsecured firearms and young children remain a persistent concern in Ohio, where the CDC lists the state's firearm-death rate at 14.6 per 100,000 people, with 1,745 firearm deaths recorded, according to cdc.gov. The article also raises broader firearm-safety concerns.
